Death Mark
by luiciddreamer
Summary: Dystopian type AU: Based of the prompt "At birth everybody has the date they will die tattooed on their arm. Emma was supposed to die yesterday." What does this mean for Emma? And what is this blue eyed stranger keeping from her? Rated M for language


_A/N: Hi guys. I'm new to sharing my writinf for people so I'm feeling so nervous about this . Feedback is appreciated, let me know if you think I should keep going? Happy Reading!_

 **Chapter 1**

I grabbed the clock and shook it vigorously. There's no way it's possible. The clock said 12:00 a.m. How could this be. I'm suppose to be dead by now. We had the funeral, we shed tears. I had said goodbye to my mother, father, my whole family. I looked down at my Death Mark. Was it wrong? How could it be wrong? In my 26 years of life it had never been wrong on anyone. Just then I heard the beep.

No. No. No. No. I have to get out of here.

I felt the room begin to heat up. I had to escape the death room or I was going to be incinerated. I started frantically looking around. There was nothing in this small empty room. Just the furnace and..a window in the corner to let the smoke out. I quickly climbed up the corners near the window. Shit it was locked. I ripped a piece of my favorite shirt off and wrapped it around my fist and punched a whole through the glass. A loud alarm went off and I almost lost my grip on the wall. I grabbed the hole I made through the window and pulled my self up. I could feel the pieces of glass piercing through my skin. I managed to squeeze out the window just as the room began to ignite and set a blaze.

The alarms were even louder outside in the area we call Morte. It's where they send those whose time has come so they can die in peace and away from the eyes of their family. I looked down at my arms and legs. Blood was dripping down them and I could still feel the glass inside.

I looked around to see if I could find help. I started walking through a path of trees and bushes when I heard voices talking. I started to walk closer and was about to yell for help when I heard that the voices were saying.

"We have to find her, she couldn't just disappear." A man said.

"Subject 1417 is still missing." Another man said.

"Don't let her escape. When you find her kill her." A female voice from a walkie talkie said " We can't let them found out."

I couldn't breath, "Kill her." she had said. Why would they want to kill me, find out what, what is going on?

I ran away from the voices. I had to find my way home. To let my parents know that I was still alive, that this was all a mistake. I picked up the pace only to trip over a large branch. I let out a yelp on my way down.

Shit. I heard footsteps coming towards me. What am I going to do.

Shit Shit Shit.

I felt a pair of hot hands around my mouth. I tried to scream but the hand muffled me.

"I think I heard it over hear."

The men who were looking for me earlier were coming closer.

"It's probably just a raccoon or something. Come on, We don't have time for this." The other man said.

The footsteps started to walk away and the hand that was keeping me from screaming let go. I turned around quickly with my fist ready to break a nose, teeth, something but it was caught by the same hot hand that had shut me up.

"Woah, your a tough lass," and accented voice laughed.

"Who are you?" I asked with my fist still clenched.

"I seem to be the one who just said your life." He smirked.

I looked up at him and in other circumstances he would have took my breath away. He was average height, not tall not short and had dark black messy hair. His eyes, he had eyes so blue that it could make you sea sick. Who the hell is he? And why is he helping me.

"I didn't need you hep." I huffed. He still had my wrist in his grasp.

"Sure you didn't love. Not like you had the white coats on your trail or anything." He said tightening his grasp.

"I would have gotten away from them." I said struggling to get out his grasp.

"Oh what, you were going to fist them to death?" He looked at me with an amused smirk and a cocked eyebrow.

"No." I said rolling my eyes. "What does it matter to you? And let go of my wrist!"

" In a minute." He said pulling my wrist closer to him. He examined my death mark and gave a nod before letting go of me.

"What was that for?" I rubbed my wrist from where he grabbed me.

"Just checking my suspicions." He turned around into the darkness of the woods," If you plan on living a day astroturfing your death mark its best if you follow me now."

I thought about my options and I didn't really have much. I had no clue how to get out of Morte and even if I did I didn't know how I would make it back home without getting caught. I sighed in frustration. I ran to catch up to the man who seemed like my best option.

"Where are we going?" I asked him.

" Atrasado." He simply stated.

I scrunched up my face trying to remember the little Spanish I learned in high school.

"Overdue? What does that mean?" I asked

"I'll explain when we get there now quiet." He ducked down behind a bush.

I crouched down beside hime and followed him down the path that led to a sewage drain.

"You can't be serious." I said watching him open it.

"It's either this or death. Don't tell me your squeamish love" He smirked.

I rolled my eyes and walked down the ladder into the sewer. He followed shortly behind me closing the drain. He grabbed a flashlight from his pocked and began to walk.

"So who are you really?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

"Want to know my life story do you?" He smiled.

"Seriously." I said irritated.

" Someone like you." He said.

"Also cryptic." I huffed.

He let out a sigh and showed me his arm. His Death Mark. It was five years past due.

"Woah." I breathed out. "Atrasado, overdue, are you taking me to a place for people like us. Are there other people like us? What does this mean?"

"Yes, Yes. And I'm not sure." He responded making a right turn.

"This is fucking crazy, for 26 years I have been prepared to die yesterday. Only I lived. Which means who knows when I'll die, even if I'll die. I could live forever. God I don't know what is scarier." I started to feel a panic attack coming on.

Suddenly he turned around and squeezed me tight. I started to fight it but I could feel my heart rate slowing down. He smelt clean. Cleaner then I'd expect for someone who frequented the sewer.

"Breath." He whispered in my ear. "Your going to be fine love, were almost at Astrid. When we get there I promise things will make more sense."

I let out a small breath. He was right. I needed to calm down. After a few minutes he let go of me and we continued walking in the drains. He made one more left before climbing up the ladder. He knocked on the lid four times took a pause and knocked on more time. The lid opened up and I could hear voices above up.

"We were getting worried about you." A female voice said.

"Sorry Ruby, ran into complications." He responded.

He climbed out of the drain and extended his hand for me. I grabbed it and he helped me climb to of the drain. I looked around me and saw what looked like my families hometown expect for the different colored houses and tents everywhere.

"You saved one." The girl, Ruby, said.

She was my heigh with brunette hair, big brown eyes and scarlet red lips. I wonder if that was his girlfriend. Not that it matters.

"Yeah, she managed to get away on her own. Tough lass she is." He smiled.

"Number?" Ruby asked.

"1417 they said." He had told her.

I remember hearing the men in the woods refer to me by that number.

"Excuse me." I said looking at the two of them, " what's going on?"

" You didn't tell her anything?" The girl asked.

"Thought it would be best coming from you. Didn't think she'd come if I told her." He smiled at her.

She rolled her eyes at him and spoke. " Welcome to Astrada. It's a community we created from one of the ruined cities and it's cloaked by a mechanism we created. It's our salvation."

"Who are you?" I asked.

"In due time, we will let you know. For now all you need to know is My name is Ruby I work security sort of speak around here, and this scoundrel over here is Killian. He's a recruiter if you will."

I was about to demand the tell me more when she cut me off, " Killian, go get her set up at your tent and clean her up. We saved some dinner for you but share with Ms…?"

"Swan. Emma Swan." I said. " and I'm not sharing a tent with him."

"Oh don't worry love," he said turning to walk away " I don't bite unless you ask me too."


End file.
